My World: Meltdown
by DropsofLight
Summary: Akita Neru has just been born as her world's newest Vocaloid, and therefore, immediately enrolled in Harmonia High. What she doesn't know yet is that she isn't a normal Vocaloid- she is a Boukaloid, a Vocaloid without a voice. What will become of Neru on her search to find a purpose?
1. Born

**Heeeyyy! *waves enthusiastically* This is my first fanfiction, so feel free to critique and review as you please! Hope you like it!**

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The gears turned. The lights flashed. A fusion of technology and hope melted and was born anew, with a bright electric pulse in its heart. Skin and pixels molded into each other, eyes as intelligent as a computer and as truthful as a soul. Yes, when they made it, they gave it a soul.

But when they made it, it was different.

It stumbled in the room in which it had just materialized. It blinked open its eyes and was dazzled by the bright light. Several things hit it at once.

Existence.

Thought.

Sense.

Emotion.

It had a name. It- no, _she_- had a gender. She was from a family of sorts, a family of one, called Akita. And she- she was-

"Ne...ru..." She whispered for the first time. And all at once her purpose consumed her: to represent, to express, to _sing_.

A feeling rose up within her, empowering her, and she took a breath to release the emotion which had been programmed so carefully inside of her.

All that came out was a single squeak.

She.

Couldn't.

Sing.

"She's in here!"

A young female voice echoed from outside the entrance to the room Neru was in. Not two seconds later, the voice's owner skidded to a halt in front of her.

The two girls stared at each other in awe, the little one in thoughtful reverence; the older in suspicious shock. The younger had short, blonde hair, a ribbon at the top of her head. Her blue eyes were excited and innocent.

"Here?" A boy rushed in and slid to a stop beside her. For a second Neru thought she was seeing double: the boy was the mirror image of his other half, his own cropped hair tied into a ponytail. His expression, the same wondering gaze, was as if Neru was something from another world.

The three stood staring at each other. Neru dared to walk back a step from the two strangers. They seemed to be like her, but they seemed stronger somehow, fuller. But as she contemplated what set them apart from her, a new sound reached her ears: quiet, slow footsteps.

A teenage girl swept past the children with a type of energetic grace. Her long, turquoise hair reached the floor; her eyes were wide and kind.

The two children stood up straight like little soldiers behind the girl as she stopped directly in front of Neru. She looked into Neru's eyes for a long minute; Neru felt like she was being tested.

Then the teenager raised her hand and ran her thumb across the golden plate on Neru's shirt. Neru saw her mouth one word:

"Vocaloid."

With a smile as large and bright as the sun, the teenager took Neru's hand. "Welcome to our world. Welcome, Akita Neru."


	2. Harmonia High

Neru stood still like a statue in front of the thick, metal double doors. She hung on to the books in her hand as she tried not to shake.

"Get out of the way!"

Neru squeaked as a girl on an orange skateboard whizzed toward her. The green-haired girl tripped off her skateboard and put both her hands out, crashing into the doors. She landed on the ground.

"Ow... That didn't go exactly as planned..." The girl rubbed her head in pain.

Neru snapped out of her moment of fear. "What was that for, huh?!" she shouted, dropping her books as her hands curled into fists, "You could've killed me!"

"S- Sorry!" The girl scrambled up and almost fell again when she accidentally stepped on her skateboard. Sweat dropping, she laughed nervously. "I don't think I've ever seen you around before."

Neru made a face. "... I'm new," she grumbled finally, her face turning red.

"Ohhh, a new girl!" She put one hand at her hip and the other out for a handshake. "My name's Gumi. I'm a senior."

Neru turned away from the hand. "It's Neru."

Unfazed, Gumi opened the door and picked up her skateboard. "C'mon," she grabbed Neru's wrist, "I'll take you where you need to go!"

"Wait!" Neru cried, trying to wrench herself free, "My books!"

Running, Gumi dragged Neru down a hallway, turning down corridors seemingly at random. In moments they were in front of a door with a sign that read 'Principal's Office.'

"They'll help you in here," Gumi said, pulling the door open.

"H-Hold on!" Neru stuttered as Gumi pushed her in.

"Good luck!" Gumi sang darkly, and then she shut the door.

Neru found herself in complete and utter darkness. She rubbed her eyes, hoping they'd adjust to the light, to no avail. "Hello? Is anyone there?" she called out, her voice echoing.

"Greetings," a robotic female voice suddenly said. Neru tried to find the source of the voice but couldn't.

"Who are you?" she demanded, "What's going on?"

"I am Lola." A light suddenly turned on, and Neru threw up an arm to keep it from blinding her.

A woman made from thousands of pixels had materialized in front of her, emitting a soft, blue light. Each pixel kept changing color, and she had no discernible features; even her face was impossible to pinpoint.

"And you, my dear?"

"Akita Neru," she answered proudly, standing up straight.

"Neru... A strong name." Neru allowed herself a nervous smile. "You have a large task ahead of you, child."

"I can do it!" Neru insisted stubbornly. Lola let out a melodic laugh.

"I know you can, young one. But first you must find your place. Are you ready?"

"Of course!" Neru said determinedly, hands on her hips.

"Then go, and be brave." The door swung open and before Neru knew what was going on, a wind was blowing her away.

Someone was poking her stomach. Neru twitched and made a grumpy sound. "Stop," she grumbled, and someone gasped.

"You're awake!" A chipper voice exclaimed, and Neru opened her eyes.

It was the turquoise-haired teenager and her two twin lackeys. "You!" Neru gasped, sitting up, "You were there when I was born!"

The little blond girl clapped her hands. "That's right! We claimed you first! You're Neru!"

"And _you're_ giving me a headache," Neru muttered. The teenager chuckled and helped her up.

"My name is Miku," she introduced herself warmly as Neru got up, "Hatsune Miku." She gave a bright white smile. "And this is Rin and Len."

The twins gave her identical grins. "Why were you on the floor?" Len asked innocently. Akita looked around.

She was in a locker-filled hallway. The principal's office was nowhere in sight. "I- I don't know."

"She's new, Len, she must've just met Her," Miku reminded him, putting emphasis on 'her.' Neru assumed she meant Lola. "And you're probably very confused, aren't you, Neru?"

"Yeah, I am. What's going on?"

"You're at Harmonia High," Miku told her, picking a black book bag off the floor, "Are these yours?"

Neru took the bag and looked inside. "My books!" she said, riffling through them, "Hold on, what's this?"

Neru pulled a passport-like object out of the bag. Inside was a list of traits.

"Name: Akita Neru," Neru read aloud, "Meaning: I'm bored, I'm going to bed." She sweat dropped- the others gave her a funny look. "Age: Sixteen. Class: Freshman." She skipped to an unfilled status. "'Race?'"

"You're a Vocaloid," Miku said surely, "You're one of us."

Neru snapped the profile shut. She didn't want Miku to see that she wasn't what Miku thought she was… at least, for now. "Does everyone have one of these?" she asked carefully.

"Yeah," Len answered, pulling his own out. He showed it to her. Everything was filled in, right down to the last status.

"…Wait… You're enrolled here?!" Neru gasped, "How is that possible? You're like twelve!"

"I'm thirteen," Len said coolly, "And classes here aren't based on age. They're based on how good you are."

"At what?" Neru asked blankly.

"'_At what?!_'" The three of them looked at her in shock.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here."

Neru looked up and saw what seemed like a badly copied version of Miku. The girl had her hands on her hips, and behind her stood six other students. Her hair was black, her eyes were red, and instead of Miku's warm smile, she had a cruel sneer.

"Leave us alone, Zie," Miku warned with uncharacteristic anger.

"I don't think so." The girl called Zie walked past the twins, who sprang out of the way and hid behind Miku. She approached Neru and put a red fingernail on her chin, lifting her head up to meet her eyes. Neru scowled.

"Is this the little girl who escaped us last time?" she crooned, and Neru pushed her hand away roughly.

"She's a Vocaloid, Zie," Rin spat at her.

"Yeah," Len piped up, "Not one of _your_ kind."

A girl behind Zie, one with long, grey hair let out a high-pitched cackle. "Oh, Len," she sighed, still chuckling, "One day you'll understand how _sexy_ being a Vipperloid can be." She winked at Len, who looked positively green at the thought.

A calm looking boy stepped forward, his long, red hair tied back in a ponytail. "C'mon, Zie," he said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Let's go. We'll get the next one."

Zie shrugged his hand off her shoulder, then turned to Miku, who leaned back. "Next time, twerp," she growled, and then she swept away, her entourage following behind.

Neru watched them walk away, stunned at how plain _mean_ they had been. "Who were those guys?" she whispered.

"Those were Vipperloids," Miku answered, her tone serious, "Except for Zie. Zie is a Boukaloid. The one and only Boukaloid."

"What makes her a Boukaloid?" Neru dared to ask, watching Zie's retreating back.

Miku gave her a tortured look.

"She can't sing."

Neru paced back in forth in her dorm room. She was a Boukaloid. She _had_ to be a Boukaloid; after all, she couldn't sing. But Miku said Zie was the only Boukaloid. Plus, she was _nothing_ like Zie.

Neru stopped and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Was she?

The door slammed open, causing the books and knickknacks on the shelves to fall. "Oh my goodness!" a voice squeaked, "I'm so sorry!"

Neru turned to see the source of the voice, but before she could, its owner was dashing around the room fixing things. "I'm really, really, really sorry!" She stopped and bowed to Neru several times in apology.

Neru stared. "Hey, it's your stuff, not mine." She looked curiously at the girl; she had big, mahogany eyes and tawny hair, and her pink hoodie had wolf ears on top. She wore gloves and mary-janes (_Ugh_, Neru thought, _Not my style,_) and from her skirt peeked out a long tail.

"My name is Neru," she introduced herself slowly, unsure if she could trust a person so… jittery.

"You must be my new roommate!" she squealed and twirled in joy; Neru flinched. "My name is Miko, Ooka Miko."

"Nice to meet you…?" Neru said, though it sounded more like a question. Miko finished picking up the books and flopped onto the bed.

"Can I ask you a question?" Miko chattered, lying on her belly, supporting her head with her hands, "Well I just did, but can I ask you another one?"

Neru took a seat on the opposing bed. "Why not, kid."

"Good, I needed someone without a biased opinion." Miko's tail was wagging back and forth in the air. "Does my voice sound funny to you?"

"Uh…" Taken aback, Neru searched for a polite answer. "Not… really…?"

"Oh it does, doesn't it!" Miko wailed suddenly. She sat up and put her hand to her forehead melodramatically. "I try so hard! No one can even tell!"

Neru stammered a compliment, but it was as if she had said nothing. "I'll never be a true Vocaloid!" Miko sniffed, pretending to shed a tear.

Neru jolted. "A true Vocaloid?" she repeated quickly, "What are you then?" _Could she be a Boukaloid? Was Miku wrong?_

Miko snapped out of her act and looked at Neru oddly. "I'm a Utauloid. What else could I be?"

"What the hell is a 'Utauloid?'"

Miko's hoodie ears flicked up inquisitively; Neru was starting to suspect that there were real wolf ears under there. "Oh. That's right. You're new."

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Neru muttered under her breath; Miko didn't seem to hear.

"Well… where do I begin?" Miko contemplated thoughtfully, "Well, Vocaloids are 'loids who have their own voice. Their sound is strong and unique. Utauloids all have similar voices, and they don't sound 'professional.'" She put air-quotes around the word. "We can be different from each other, but we're not as unique. Oh, and Vocaloids are branded with a logo."

"Yeah," Neru agreed softly, looking down at her shiny golden plate. _But why does it say Vocaloid?_ she thought, making a face, _when I can't even sing?_

"Are you alright? You look upset."

"Of course I'm fine," Neru snapped, which shut Miko up. The rest of the evening, Miko did not say another word. _Fine_, Neru thought, _I like it that way_. But deep inside she was starting to feel lonelier than she ever had before.

_Class One: Orchestra, Room 203. 9:05 A.M._

Neru stood in front of yet another door, yet again frozen by fear. Except this time Gumi wasn't there to force her inside. Her hand hovering over the doorknob, she tried to force herself to open it.

"Excuse me," a quiet voice said with a hint of irritation, "Can you please get out of the way?"

The arrogance in the voice hit a nerve somewhere in Neru. "I'll move out of the way when I want to," she retorted, spinning around. She came face to face with a boy a year or so younger than her, with snow-white hair and deep red eyes. His face was one of someone who did not sleep very often.

"No, I think you should move _now_." He took a step forward, his tone getting sour.

"Dell, what's going on?"

They both turned to see a girl with the same white hair, same red eyes as the boy. Neru felt a chill; she was one of the Vipperloids who had been with Zie yesterday. The girl stopped in between Neru and the Dell.

"Are you the new student?" the girl asked gently. Neru gave a curt nod, suspicious. Then suddenly the girl smiled. "Please excuse my little brother. My name is Yowane Haku. What's yours?"

"Uh…" The kindness caught Neru off guard; she couldn't help but smile back. "It's Akita Neru."

"Neru!"

She looked over her shoulder to see Miku running towards her with another girl who had bouncing, curled red pigtails. Looks of distaste crossed Haku's and Dell's faces.

Miku and her friend slowed down as they realized who Neru was with; the pigtailed girl looked annoyed at Haku's presence. Neru suddenly felt like her and Miku's friendship was at stake.

"Look," she barked to Haku, who seemed surprised by Neru's sudden angry tone, "I know who you are. You're a Vipperloid. So don't talk to me, okay?"

"Don't talk to my sister like that!" Dell yelled suddenly, pushing Haku out of the way.

"Hey! No fighting!" a teacher said suddenly from down the hallway. He was a sharply dressed man with modern glasses on his nose; a jacket was in his hands.

"Sorry, Mr. Hiyama," Haku said grumpily. Miku and her friend caught up to them just as Mr. Hiyama did.

"Ah, I see our new student has arrived," Mr. Hiyama said happily. Neru had the feeling that he was a very kind, simple-living person. "Are you all welcoming her?"

Suddenly the bell rang, and all their heads turned toward the sound of it. "Well, technically you're late to my class," Mr. Hiyama said, adjusting his glasses with a frown.

"Mr. Hiyama-!" Miku's friend whined.

"But!" Mr. Hiyama interrupted her with a grin, "Seeming as I'm late too, I won't count this time."

"Thank you Mr. Hiyama," Miku, Haku, and her friend chorused; Neru noticed that Dell continued to look quite pissed.

"Now, come on in." He opened the door, and they all stepped into the classroom.

Miku, her friend, Haku, and Dell all took their seats in front of music stands; Neru took an empty one by the front of the room. She noticed Gumi, who gave her a quick wave, and the Vipperloid with the long red hair. Other than that, the students around her were strangers, though the class wasn't very big. Many different instruments lined the walls and were stashed in the corners, and on the board was a series of musical notes.

"Rollcall!" Mr. Hiyama sang, and little by little the students stopped talking. He took out a sheet of paper.

"Akita Neru."

All eyes turned to her. _Why does my name have to be at the top?_ Keeping her head up, she answered, "Here."

"Hatsune Miku?"

"Here!"

"Honne Dell?"

"Here…"

"Kasane Ted?"

The boy with the red hair drawled, "Here."

Mr. Hiyama kept reading down the list, all the way done to "Yawane Haku," who answered, "Here," in a whisper.

"Alright, today we'll be having a basic lesson for the trombone…"

The end-of-class bell could not have been more welcomed. Neru walked out of the classroom, chatting and complaining about the class with Miku and her friend from before, Teto. Neru was happy to learn that Teto, despite her brother being a Vipperloid, was very sweet and even a little mischievous. She was a Utauloid, but apparently looked upon with as much respect as a Vocaloid, because she had been the first.

Classes went on uneventfully until lunch; Musical Theory, Choreography and Technology were difficult, but Neru was a hard worker. In each class, she had at least Miku, Teto, Gumi, Miko, or the twins to help her. The real challenge came to her at lunch.

Neru wandered around the cafeteria with her tray, unsure of where to sit. None of her friends were in her lunch period. _What luck_, she thought darkly.

Suddenly a foot stuck out from nowhere, and Neru tripped; her food went flying out of her hands.

Laughter erupted from the nearby tables. Her hands hurting from smacking the tiles, Neru looked up to see Dell standing over her. "_That's_ for this morning," he sneered.

"Dell!" Haku was stomping over from a table with a few Vipperloids. "I told you not to do that!"

"She deserved it," he argued lazily.

Neru sat up, salvaging her juice-box and a salad that was still wrapped in plastic.

"Need a hand?" She looked up to see Haku extending her hand, as if to help her up.

"No thanks," Neru answered coldly, "Not from you." She got up on her own and started to walk away amid the quieting giggles.

After a few yards she realized Haku was following her. "I'm really sorry," she apologized to Neru, sounding sincere; Neru ignored her anyway, "My brother's an ass, he really is. I won't let him do it again." Neru remained silent and sat down at an empty table, opening her salad.

Haku sat down next to her. "I know you're angry. I just wanted to warn you about Miku."

Neru covered up the fact that she had just choked on a piece of lettuce. Haku kept talking.

"Miku just wants everything to be happy-go-lucky all the time. But that's not all there is to music. That's why Zie was born." Neru kept chewing and acted like she couldn't see or hear Haku. "I just wanted you to know what was going on," she continued pleadingly.

When Neru still didn't answer, she sighed and got up. "I hope you listen to my advice," she said, before walking back to the Vipperloid table.

What does Haku mean? Neru thought suspiciously. Zie was… well… a bitch. And Miku was the kindest person Neru had met so far. Could it be that Zie wasn't so bad after all? And Haku… unlike her brother, she seemed kind. Why was she with the Vipperloids?

Neru finished her salad and threw it away as the bell rang. She looked down at her schedule and felt her stomach drop.

_Class Five: Singing Lessons, Room 421. 1:30 P.M._


	3. Singing Class

Neru slowly snuck her way into room 421, her head down. She was shaking again, and hated herself for it. This classroom did not have any desks; instead there were chairs and a miniature stage. Neru felt absolutely sick at the sight of it.

No one she knew was in the classroom- there was a beautiful girl with dark green hair, talking to a boy who looked about as young as the Kagamine twins. He had a slight accent and his eye was covered by bandages. Neru stared at him, wondering what could've caused such an injury

She was startled by the sound of someone running in heels. A girl who looked a couple years older than Neru made her way over to the boy and his friend, running her fingers through her short brown hair. "Did you hear, Oliver?" she said in a gentle but excited voice, "Yuki said yes!"

"She did?!" Oliver exclaimed; the three began to converse in whispers, and Neru turned away.

"Ack!" She stumbled backwards- someone had been standing right behind her. She blinked once and scowled.

Dell. Of course Dell was in her singing class. "What are you doing?" she snapped at him.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he said coolly. He handed her a paper, which Neru took cautiously. "Miss Miriam told me to hand these out."

Neru noticed a young, blond teacher writing on a whiteboard on the stage. "Well next time don't be so weird about it," Neru muttered. Dell seemed like he was about to retort angrily but at that moment the teacher turned around. "Dell, are you done handing out those sheets?"

He snapped his mouth shut and turned away, heading towards the group Neru had been listening to before. She took the seat closest to the back, and a moment later the bell rang and the students chatting outside came in.

"Everybody take your seats," Miss Miriam instructed with total authority- the class stopped talking immediately. Neru had a feeling that, despite her young age, she had total and absolute respect from her students. "Make sure you get a sheet- it's got the song we're working on today."

Neru looked down at the paper. _Meltdown_, she read silently, scanning the lyrics, _written by Rin Kagamine_. Rin wrote songs? She had never thought the uppity little twin was so talented.

"We're going to practice it all together, same as yesterday. Can I have someone to volunteer as the leader?"

The girl with the short brown hair pulled up the hand of Oliver's green-haired friend. "Meiko-" she complained in a whisper, alarmed.

"Sonika? Is that a hand?"

"Um…" Meiko gave her a glare, and she sighed and got up. "Yes, Miss Miriam."

Neru watched nervously as Sonika got on the stage where Miss Miriam sat on the piano bench. The first few notes played, and then Sonika began to sing.

She had a voice as beautiful as her face, with deep tones and an unwavering pitch. Around Neru, the others began to sing too; she liked all their voices. The song itself though, Neru did not just like- she _loved_. She connected to it, listening to the tragic, beautiful lyrics rather than singing, entranced by the sound.

_This_ was what she was meant to do- be enveloped in sound, in melody, in harmony. This was what she had to do, what she needed to do. She closed her eyes and hummed along, feeling the emotions of the girl in the song.

Then the first high-pitched note came, and some of the students who were altos, such as Meiko and Sonika, faltered. Two voices rose above the rest- Oliver and Dell, sopranos. And as Oliver's voice struggled with the language, Dell's voice rang out, strong, heartrending… beautiful.

Dell's voice stood out to Neru for the rest of the song as she hid in the chair in the back of the room. Just near the end, she saw his red eyes flicker to hers. She cringed, but he closed his eyes and finished the last verse.

"Alright." Miss Miriam stood up and smiled warmly at the class. "That was good, but we've got to work of those high notes. Let's try another song with a few more of those, see how well we can do."

The rest of the class passed by in a blur, and as soon as the bell rang, Neru practically ran out of the classroom.

She slowed down a hallway away, checking her schedule yet again.

"I saw you."

She dropped her schedule and cursed. Picking it up, she looked over her shoulder.

Dell was standing behind her with an irritated pout on his face. "Jeesh, do you have to scare me every time you see me?" she barked at him. He grinned.

"Am I so bad?"

"Oh trust me, I haven't forgotten lunch."

At this, Dell took a step forward, and Neru took a step back. "The point is," he said, his usual scowl returning, "I saw you in class."

"So?"

"You weren't singing," he answered, crossing his arms. Neru felt a chill- he had noticed she couldn't sing.

"I- I didn't feel like singing," she stammered, ready to freak out. Dell raised an eyebrow.

"Everybody's favorite class is singing lessons," he continued, his tone getting more accusing, "Because singing is everyone's favorite thing to do. But you chose to sit out."

"Yeah, I'm catching a cold," Neru said, thinking quickly, "Didn't want to hurt my throat."

"You sound pretty healthy to me," Dell pointed out. She faked a cough.

"See? Cold." She shifted the books in her hands and turned around. "You can go now."

"Neru…" Dell had suddenly gone quiet. "Listen… this is important…"

"Hey!"

They both turned to see Miku running towards them. "Leave her alone!" She pulled a welsh spring onion out of her lunchbox and, before he could duck, hit Dell over the head.

"Miku!" Slack-jawed, Neru watched as Miku kept smacking Dell with the onion.

"Alright, alright!" he rasped, pushing it from him and walking away. "Goddamn… bitches are crazy…"

"What'd you call me?" Miku snapped, but Neru grabbed her arm.

"It's okay, Miku," she laughed, "That was the best thing that's happened to me all day."

Miku gave her one of her award-winning smiles. "Glad I could help."

Neru was still thinking about the day at two in the morning, lying in bed in her dorm room, Miko snoring in the other bed. She stared up at the ceiling, listening to the crickets chirping outside.

She had tried falling asleep but she was still nervous about singing class. Her schedule rotated between e very other lesson, but singing seemed to have at least a period a day, if not two. Eventually she'd have to try singing… but she knew she couldn't.

A particularly loud snore jolted Neru out of her thoughts. She stared at the young she-wolf, wondering how someone so small could make such a loud noise.

_Tap, tap._

Neru sat up and stared at the window. She watched as pebbles were thrown at the glass, making little sounds against the pane. _Tap, tap, tap._

She went over and opened the window, looked down, and scowled.

"What are you doing here?" she grumbled as loudly as she dared.

Haku was standing below her window, and at Neru's voice she looked away and held her arm behind her back.

"I- Um-" She fidgeted, and Neru's annoyance deepened. "You've gotta come downstairs!" she exclaimed suddenly, then turned her head down again.

"Why?" Neru hissed as Miko snored again.

"Because Zie said so," Haku whimpered nervously, "And if you don't come down, she'll kill us both."

Neru let out an exasperated sigh. She was scared of Zie, but there was no way she'd let these Vipperloids know it. "Fine, I'll come," she barked quietly. She grabbed her bag and headed down the stairs.

She slowed down as Zie stepped in front of the stairwell. "Our little escapee." Her grin was wicked, but Neru didn't show it bothered her. "Why don't you come down here and have a little chat with us?"

"You don't scare me," Neru warned quickly as she reached the bottom. Zie stepped out of her way, revealing the Vipperloids to her. They were all lazing around the dormitory's lounge, but each had their eyes on her. Neru spotted Haku looking at the floor behind the others.

"Let me introduce my friends," Zie greeted with a sickening smile, "This is Rook."

A boy with black hair and a single red streak gave her the same smile, slightly more sadistic looking.

"Ritsu,"

A little girl wearing a rather obtrusive dress gave her a bored, disdainful look.

"Ruko,"

Another girl, this one with short black pigtails and mismatched red and blue eyes, looked at her with a little more kindness than the others.

"Tei,"

The girl who seemed to have a thing for Len gave her a look that made Neru shudder with the inappropriateness of it.

"Haku and Dell,"

Neither of them looked at her at all.

"And Ted."

Teto's brother also seemed to be kind, though he seemed like he was appraising her.

"And me!"

Neru whirled around. Miko was descending the staircase in her quick, lightfooted way, grinning in a way that made her look incredibly innocent compared to the vicious Vipperloids. Neru found herself gaping.

Zie blocked Miko's way. "What did I say, dog-breath?" she huffed, arms crossed, "You're not a Vipperloid anymore. Not after last week."

"Awwww, c'mon," Miko whined; Neru flinched at the high-pitched sound, and she wasn't the only one, "Miku's so nice, can't we just be friends?"

"No!" Zie shouted with so much force that Neru felt herself take a step back. Rook whispered something to Ruko that sounded something like, "Here we go again."

"Miku is an outrage! She doesn't understand the true purpose of music, unlike the rest of us!" Neru realized ZIe was getting ready for a rant. "She's clueless, ignorant, selfish-"

Ted crossed the room and put a hand on Zie's back. "Calm down, love," he murmured to her, causing a new kind of confusion to cross into Neru's mind, "We'll get back at her."

Zie gave him an angry look, but he had settled her enough. "Fine." She shot a glare at Miko, who was crouched, covering her wolf ears in fear. "Go sit with the others."

She jumped up, scurrying over beside Ruko. "Yay!"

Despite Miko's uppity attitude, Neru felt an air of sudden… badness. Like as if she was at a party where all the people invited were planning on breaking more than a few rules. Even sweet little Miko seemed at home.

"Alright, this meeting has been called to discuss the race of Akita Neru," Zie began with sudden authority, her eyes determined.

"I'm a Vocaloid," Neru lied instantly, but it was as if she hadn't spoken.

"We've gathered here because Neru is obviously hiding a very important fact," she continued, pacing back and forth. Neru would've found her act almost silly if the situation wasn't so sinister. "Dell?"

Looking over her shoulder, Dell stood up. Neru's blood ran cold. "It's true," he drawled, picking his way over to her. "Neru." he looked into her eyes, and his next words could have almost been mistaken as concerned. "You can't sing, can't you?"


End file.
